Another Free-Thinker Jumps Ship

Michael Goodwin is just the latest of many, many Democrats to note his disdain for what his party has become now that it is being run by the lunatic fringe. His latest column, "Dem Silence Is Deafening" is inspired by the vicious NARAL ad that essentially blamed John Roberts for an abortion clinic bombing because seven years prior he argued that protesters had a right to protest outside abortion clinics.

One would think protecting the right to protest would be something the left could get behind. But I digress...

Goodwin, pro-choice himself, is disturbed by NARAL's lack of substance and the lack of a Democratic response to it, but notes that what we are seeing is part of a long-developing trend.

For those who support abortion rights - myself included - it is distressing to see NARAL sink to such a level. But it's not the first time. Its Web site has been boiling with anti-Roberts distortions since his nomination. Each twist includes a call for contributions. Nothing fires up the donor base like scare rhetoric about "radical right groups." In fact, as the whole episode shows, it's Democratic advocacy groups that have become the real radicals. From Michael Moore to Moveon.org, and now to NARAL, the left has taken a turn toward the extreme that is as vitriolic as anything on the right.

Sidebar: Goodwin can be forgiven for his off-hand stab at the right. After all, he is just now noticing how radical and empty his own party is becoming. Had he arrived at that obvious conclusion about five years ago, he would be aware that any "vitriol" coming from the right is generally a response to the garbage we hear every day from the left, and have been for some time, regardless of his epiphany. Furthermore, it is a statement without example. I defy him to produce examples that are on par with the following run-of-the-mill illustration of every day liberal actions.

It was a phenomenon I saw in last year's presidential race. When a host on Air America radio advocated violence against Bush, I was shocked that some liberals applauded. One call from a 78-year-old Connecticut woman still gives me chills: Speaking of Bush, she said: "Osama Bin Laden had it right: His throat should be slit."

A New York Times reporter who dared write something nice about Bush got an E-mail from a California man who said he hoped the reporter's child would be killed by a terrorist bomb.

Such ugly views are hardly typical of every Democrat or liberal. But there is no denying that the fringe is starting to dominate the party.

I included the last sentence because it is so typical. It is the "they are out there but they don't represent me" argument. Meanwhile, as Goodwin points out in his column, no one in Democratic leadership seems to be running from the now-common hate speech of the left. One can only hope that Goodwin will continue on his road to enlightenment, despite his party's path to irrelevance.